I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 188

It seemed like only Cha Jin-Hyeok could see the green pattern.

‘This is familiar.’

He felt a Mystery that he had acquired a long time ago and that had been with him for quite a while reveal itself and undergo enhancement. Touching the pattern felt like touching something soft and squishy. The green pattern spread out like a cloud as Jin-Hyeok touched it, enveloping him and covering him in green light.

[The Achievement effect ?Agony of the Artist? is enhancing the Mystery ?Pure Luck?.]

Jin-Hyeok had no idea why Pure Luck was considered to have artistic elements, but that was the pick of the Agony of the Artist effect.

‘The two are a perfect match!’

Even ketchup tasted different depending on whether it was eaten with fries or salad. The Agony of the Artist effect and the Pure Luck Mystery were just like fries and ketchup—a perfect combination. Their synergy was incredible. Jin-Hyeok felt comfortable as if he were lying on a cozy bed.

‘Pure Luck seems happy... maybe too happy!’

Some Mysteries possessed their own consciousness, just like Fanatical Obsession, which had once corrupted the young Thunder Dragon. Pure Luck seemed to have gained a bit of consciousness. Jin-Hyeok could hear hysterical laughter responding to his voice.

‘Am I hallucinating?’

The combination of fries and ketchup was excellent. However, eating too much of it could be harmful to one’s health.

‘This feels like it’s too much.’

A sense of unease engulfed him.

‘Pure Luck alone requires a lot of physical stamina. Sometimes, it even drains all my mental energy.’

Being a Mystery that could create miraculous effects, Pure Luck naturally had its restrictions. It would unexpectedly wriggle in situations he had not intended and send signals as if there were signs of fortune. Sometimes, it would activate on its own accord. From his perspective, it was almost like a variable beyond his control.

‘Controlling Pure Luck was somewhat manageable until now. But what if it develops a consciousness and starts acting wildly? What if it suddenly activates while I am facing a formidable enemy like Zoro and devours all my physical and mental energy? What if it creates a rift at a crucial moment?’

While it often worked in his favor, he could not ignore the possibility of the opposite.

‘Variables beyond my control are dangerous.’

He had to stop it now, before the enhancement was completely finished and before it was fully absorbed into his body.

“What are you thinking about so deeply? What is happening to your body? Did your mediation cause a side effect or something?”

“No, that’s not it.” Jin-Hyeok found himself smiling unwittingly. “I feel like I have changed a lot.”

“Why are you laughing like a crazy person?”

If Jin-Hyeok were the Swordsman he used to be, he would have stopped this change at all costs. Variables beyond his control created too many risks.

“I’m just glad I chose to become a Streamer.”

“Yeah, right...”

Since he was a Streamer, unexpected variables were perfect content for his Eltube channel. He would surely be flustered, and his confusion would bring joy to the viewers. It felt like a vast world had opened up that he could neither imagine nor see in his Swordsman days.

Golem made a weird comment. “Why not just say you are a munchkin?”

“...”

‘Did I ever give away that I have the Munchkin Trait?’

Although Jin-Hyeok thought that Gollum was not a competent Navigator, Gollum seemed to be quicker on the uptake than Jin-Hyeok thought.

? ? ?

[You have acquired the Mystery ?God of Luck?.]

It felt like a great blessing had settled into him. Jin-Hyeok was not sure how to put it exactly, but it felt like warm, golden sunlight was enveloping him. It also felt like being wrapped up in a cozy blanket. To sum up, the feeling itself was pleasant.

‘But...’

He did not dare use it. He had an intuition that using it would drain all of his physical and mental energy.

‘Well, I would know for sure only if I tried.’

However, now did not seem like the right time. If he were to try it, he would have to do so safely, inside the domain of the Guardian Tree, where no one could disturb him.

“We have completely cleared the Dungeon. But the calculation of the clear reward is taking quite a while. In such cases, it is mostly due to GMs’ interventions. Or it could be a reward so significant that it might disrupt the Server’s balance. Or perhaps... something else has happened.” Mr. Explainer did the usual.

Jin-Hyeok already knew all this, but he just casually listened to Gollum. It was the editor who had to work hard, not him.

[You have acquired ?Picasso’s Brush? as the Clear Reward.]

[The owner is determined according to the contribution in clearing the Dungeon.]

After about three seconds,

[Player ?Gollum? has been awarded with Picasso’s Brush.]

Jin-Hyeok doubted what he had just heard.

‘How could Gollum acquire it when I clearly did much better? Does that mean Gollum won? ...Ah!’

He felt as if he had been struck on the head as he realized something

‘I didn’t show anything as a Streamer!’

If he had been a Navigator, a Tank, or a Player from any damage-dealing class, he was sure all the contributions would have been attributed to him. However, he was a Streamer, and he had not even turned on the livestream, the essence of a Streamer’s role. Of course, he was recording everything, but still, the highlight of a Streamer was the livestream.

“Why did you guys give me all the contribution points?!” Gollum yelled. He was so furious that Jin-Hyeok could see his nostrils flaring and the few strands of his hair stand on end.

“It is clear that Chul-Soo was the best!” Unable to contain his anger, Gollum stomped on the ground. “I need the GMs right here! Come out right now! Which brain-dead GM messed up distributing contribution points like this? Come out!! It’s obvious that the System picked Chul-Soo, but you guys tinkered with it so arbitrarily, which is why it took so long and caused the Dungeon’s mana flow to stutter! What kind of nonsense is this?! And look at this! Look how messed up the exit Gate is! I am going to formally raise this issue, you bastards! Aaaaaah!!!”

? ? ?

Gollum threw a tantrum for a while, but no GMs appeared. After some time, Gollum angrily said, “They must be afraid to show up.”

“But why are you so angry?”

“Do you think this is fair? The reward is clearly a Server-Grade Item, and it can be bound to a Player!”

“So? Isn’t that good for you?”

“...”

Gollum was momentarily at a loss for words. “That’s true.”

“Why are you so angry? You’re acting like someone stole something from you.”

“Regardless, this is not right. Every Play should be fair to everyone, and I can’t forgive such biased judgment. My pride won’t allow it.”

Gollum’s anger escalated again, and he yelled again. “For your information, this is my alternate character! My main character’s Player name is Golumberum! My main Server is Arvis! I will not let this go. I won’t let anyone off the hook!!!”

After ranting for a while using colorful language, the Navigator finally said, “If you reverse it now, I won’t make it an issue. This is still an early Server, and I can overlook this as a mistake by inexperienced GMs!”

Then, after a while, another set of notifications came.

[A System error has been found.]

[The System error is being corrected.]

The GMs did not show up themselves, but Picasso’s Brush, which had been awarded to Gollum, was transferred to Jin-Hyeok.

Gollum was still full of complaints. “System error, my ass! They are just making excuses. This is not even the kind of mana flow you get from a System error message.”

“Can you distinguish mana flow?” Jin-Hyeok asked, curious.

“Of course. If I reverse-engineer the mana value, I can even find out who the GMs are.”

“You can do that?”

“Well... not exactly me, but Golumberum...” Gollum said, his face turning slightly red.

“Why bother with an alternate character then?” Jin-Hyeok clicked his tongue.

“...”

“If you are going to show off your main character’s abilities, why Play as an alternate character?”

“...”

“The more I see, the less impressive you get.”

“I got you your reward, and you’re still talking shit. What a jerk.”

“I appreciate you handing over the item, but that’s a separate issue. Don’t you agree that your Play this time was not very intense? That is why you handed over Picasso’s Brush to me.”

“You have a knack for picking the right words to tick people off.” Gollum shook his head in dismay and then stood at the exit. “Well, I have gained some insight, so it’s fine. I’m quite grateful to you. It would be great to Play together again.”

“...”

“...Answer me!” A look of earnestness appeared on Gollum’s face. “You inspire me quite a bit. You are the strange guy who can reignite the passion and spirit I thought I had lost.”

“...”

“Let’s Play together sometimes.”

“...I will think about it,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

Desperation began to edge into Gollum’s earnestness. “Please! I’ve learned a lot today. I promise to Play more intensely from now on.”

“...I said I will think about it.”

? ? ?

When Jin-Hyeok got out of the Dungeon, he found himself facing an unexpected situation.

‘The Seo sisters?’

He almost lost his calm in that instant. It felt like something in his head snapped. If it had not been for his Imperial Resilience, he could have actually lost his sanity.

“So, it’s you.”

The Seo sisters were in a dreadful state. Their bodies were covered in blood, and they were bound back-to-back with paper chains.

“At last, you show up, Gollum. And Kim Chul-Soo.”

It was the Paper Sorcerer, Makendra. Suddenly, the surroundings were filled with Paper Soldiers.

‘I need to stay calm.’

Jin-Hyeok tried to control his rage as he surveyed the surroundings. The Paper Soldiers on the paper boats were aiming arrows at him, and many Paper Soldiers were pointing spears at him from the bridge. There seemed to be no escape route. Far across the bridge, the bloodied Seo Ji-Ah was mouthing ‘Run away...’

Thump!

One of the Paper Soldiers struck Ji-Ah’s head with the butt of its spear. She collapsed without a scream.

‘That bastard...!’

Jin-Hyeok bit his lip hard, desperately clinging to his fading sanity.

“Kim Chul-Soo. I had said I would kill you.” Makendra looked like a clown. She was wearing a pointed hat and had a face as white as if it was covered in flour, with black diamond shapes around the eyes. She also was wearing white stockings fit for a prince in a fairy tale and puffed pants. Her ridiculous appearance had not changed from before.

‘I can’t summon Alkinas anymore. Then should I summon the Thunder Dragon?’

However, with the Thunder Dragon, Jin-Hyeok could not launch a preemptive attack. Only passive defense was possible. The mere presence of the Thunder Dragon was not enough to drive Makendra away or intimidate her.

‘There are too many Paper Soldiers, and Makendra’s abilities are stronger than mine right now.’

“Haha! I can see that you are trying to think of a plan to kill me.” Makendra covered her mouth and laughed. She did not seem to be hiding her thoughts as Jin-Hyeok could read her status.

[#Succumb to #fear.]

“Chul-Soo... You have been a pain in my ass in more ways than one. Now, you have two choices.” Makendra extended her forefinger. “One, watch them get brutally torn apart, and then get chopped up yourself.”

“...”

She extended her middle finger and continued, “Two, get brutally torn apart first, and then watch them get chopped up. So, what is your choice?”

“Spare them.”

“Why should I do that?”

“...”

“You killed my precious subordinate, Heilik. And my sex partner.”

“Sex partner?”

“Kayn! You killed Kayn! Room 302 in the inn run by Lucia. Don’t act like you don’t know what I am talking about.”

“...”

With a flick of Makendra’s finger, one of the Paper Soldiers raised its spear and stabbed the kneeling Ji-Soo in her thigh. Ji-Soo forcefully suppressed her emerging scream.

‘I can’t show that I’m in pain right now. That would show that I am not intense. I can’t create any variables for him.’ Ji-Soo did not scream and held it in until she eventually passed out.

Makendra laughed joyously, and onlookers started to gather.

“I am going to kill all of you, and everyone related to you, Chul-Soo,” Makendra loudly announced to those around. “Now, all of you, witness the pathetic end of the naive brat, Chul-Soo!”

However, Makendra did not know that Jin-Hyeok had always been intense. He had been preparing intensely ever since the conflict with Makendra was foreshadowed. He had just not expected it to be today.